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Can music become too "raw"?


fraroc
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I'll explain what I mean by this.

 

Recently, I saw a video on youtube of someone demonstrating an 80s-era MIDI guitar synth and all I could think about was how cool it was that we had such advanced technology back in those days before the technological explosion of the 2000s. I just found it so fascinating how an instrument can sound like any other with the proper MIDI technology.

 

Part of me thinks that this willingness to experiment with those kind of sounds died in the 1990s when grunge happened, and everybody was focused on how stripped-down and "raw" music sounded. Although we have more experimentation now with sounds, I only wish that we had that same sort of willingness that we had in the 80s.

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Synths have made a hard comeback since the 90's, I more commonly hear about how music isn't raw enough, electronic musicians often just karaoke their own music after all.

 

But yeah, I don't think there are enough groups out there exploring and utilizing synths like they could.

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Lucas is in the thread which means he's getting ready to splash one of his waffle-filled essays about how KISS reinvented music in the 1940's before they were even born!

 

damn right

 

and that's before waffles were all corrupted with GMOs !!!

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I'll explain what I mean by this.

 

Recently, I saw a video on youtube of someone demonstrating an 80s-era MIDI guitar synth and all I could think about was how cool it was that we had such advanced technology back in those days before the technological explosion of the 2000s. I just found it so fascinating how an instrument can sound like any other with the proper MIDI technology.

 

Part of me thinks that this willingness to experiment with those kind of sounds died in the 1990s when grunge happened, and everybody was focused on how stripped-down and "raw" music sounded. Although we have more experimentation now with sounds, I only wish that we had that same sort of willingness that we had in the 80s.

 

fraroc, I gotta disagree with you on this only because there is so much music and "willingness" out there now

 

Prior to some of the more technological advances in the 1960s and 70s, a musician really didn't have the option or choice to be raw or not ... So when you look at music today as a whole, and what type of tools are available, this is part of the creative process ..

 

Sounding "raw" today actually can require some effort when compared to the different eras -- and that choice alone can help define a musician or band

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There was definitely more to explore on the classic synth than what was done in the 80s, but over saturation of synth music on the market killed any chance it had of progressing any further. People clamored for more rawness back in the 90s because it seemed that more synths, no matter how cool or new, would just be redundant. Much music seemed to have lost its edge, and the people wanted that back. The claims that music is too electronic now have mostly to do with computer made music and not with classic synthesizers being used, as they are pretty dated at this point. I think on the whole music nowadays simultaneously isn't raw enough and isn't well-thought-out enough. Too much of it is formulaic, and the formula tends to be very pristine and digitized. I adore the new Foos album because it's simultaneously raw and well-written/performed. But yeah, to the lament over the lack of cool synths in much present day commercial music, I tend to agree that it would be cool to hear a bigger comeback. There are a number of retro styled alternative bands making pretty prominent use of some pretty classic synthesizers, but they aren't really going about it in a new or unique way, and they aren't really getting a lot of it into the charts either.
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Synths and the like in the 80's eventually chocked the life outta music. it got bad. 90's grunge and a return to the "raw sound was a blessing.

 

pop music now......the mainstream sound...... is once again ball-less. so we need more raw-ness IMO

 

Mick

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I just found it so fascinating how an instrument can sound like any other with the proper MIDI technology.

 

King Crimson does this live, or at least they used to.

 

 

So did the Grateful Dead, starting around 1989, and through the '90s, until Jerry Garcia died. When he passed, I think the idea went with him, because none of the rest of the band used it as far as I know, in their successive projects.

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I'll explain what I mean by this.

 

Recently, I saw a video on youtube of someone demonstrating an 80s-era MIDI guitar synth and all I could think about was how cool it was that we had such advanced technology back in those days before the technological explosion of the 2000s. I just found it so fascinating how an instrument can sound like any other with the proper MIDI technology.

 

Part of me thinks that this willingness to experiment with those kind of sounds died in the 1990s when grunge happened, and everybody was focused on how stripped-down and "raw" music sounded. Although we have more experimentation now with sounds, I only wish that we had that same sort of willingness that we had in the 80s.

 

fraroc, I gotta disagree with you on this only because there is so much music and "willingness" out there now

 

Prior to some of the more technological advances in the 1960s and 70s, a musician really didn't have the option or choice to be raw or not ... So when you look at music today as a whole, and what type of tools are available, this is part of the creative process ..

 

Sounding "raw" today actually can require some effort when compared to the different eras -- and that choice alone can help define a musician or band

 

:goodone:

 

I agree.

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Too much raw music can give you loose stools.

 

Then again, too much over-processed music can be bad for your kidneys and liver and heart.

 

You gotta get cookin' to get a good groove, with some heavy smokin' chops.

 

I like my music just south of medium-rare, with lots of spice. A good meaty chew. Lots of good tuneful protein.

 

If music be the food of life, play on...

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Too much raw music can give you loose stools.

 

Then again, too much over-processed music can be bad for your kidneys and liver and heart.

 

You gotta get cookin' to get a good groove, with some heavy smokin' chops.

 

I like my music just south of medium-rare, with lots of spice. A good meaty chew. Lots of good tuneful protein.

 

If music be the food of life, play on...

Dammit, your post made my mouth water :drool:
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Well, there's a few definitions of the word "raw" when it comes to music:

 

1. In terms of sound

2. In terms of emotion/feeling

 

I honestly prefer the second definition for "raw" music, but you can't take either definition to the extreme. I can listen to every Sabbath record from Black Sabbath to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath at full volume on my home stereo and not think anything of it. Could I do the same for Nirvana, Alice in Chains, or Stone Temple Pilots? Honestly, no. Certain music is just best digested in small portions. I could listen to one Nirvana album, and that would be it. I'd have to listen to a few other artists before going back to Nirvana. Give me some records from Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin...I'll listen to that shit for hours.

 

I think a lot of it has to do with limitations of technology at the time the music was recorded, the production techniques available, and sensibilities of the musicians who were performing the songs. Most "heavy" music I'm recommended gives off an aura of "The louder you play, the heavier it is", which is totally BS. Take Snowblind by Sabbath for example. A loud song? By today's standards, it's quiet. An emotionally powerful song about being addicted to cocaine and the effects it has on you as a person? Now THAT can be some heavy shit when you have the right people writing the song. Rain Song by Zeppelin is one I consider heavy because of the build up going from orchestral guitar arrangements into full out rock and roll. Heavy isn't always LOUD as much as it is an emotional state. I think that's been forgotten by a lot of people now.

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I'll explain what I mean by this.

 

Recently, I saw a video on youtube of someone demonstrating an 80s-era MIDI guitar synth and all I could think about was how cool it was that we had such advanced technology back in those days before the technological explosion of the 2000s. I just found it so fascinating how an instrument can sound like any other with the proper MIDI technology.

 

Part of me thinks that this willingness to experiment with those kind of sounds died in the 1990s when grunge happened, and everybody was focused on how stripped-down and "raw" music sounded. Although we have more experimentation now with sounds, I only wish that we had that same sort of willingness that we had in the 80s.

 

"RAW LIKE SUSHI?"

 

Signed,

 

MR BIG

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Synths and the like in the 80's eventually chocked the life outta music. it got bad. 90's grunge and a return to the "raw sound was a blessing.

 

pop music now......the mainstream sound...... is once again ball-less. so we need more raw-ness IMO

 

Mick

 

Yes 100%. Even rock and metal tends to pander to that clinical, shiny sound.

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Going back to this topic, Sometimes I do feel that guitarists tend to be a little elitist when it comes to the idea of doing something that changes the instrument itself or experiments with it. For example, the Misa Kitara (which wasn't even a guitar, rather it was a guitar shaped synthesizer) and the Gittler Guitar (which is a headless guitar made entirely of stainless steel) got the shit beaten out of them....

 

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I feel like these instruments weren't even given a fair chance to see their full capabilities.

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